Paris 2024 Games : Elcimaï Environnement is ensuring the security and decarbonization of the power supply for three iconic sites in the City of Paris
The Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games have committed to halving their carbon footprint. To avoid the use of generators (for increased power needs or as a backup source), as is customary for major events, the City of Paris has tasked Elcimaï Environnement with strengthening and securing the high-voltage power supply and distribution for several iconic sites : the Parc des Princes, the Accor Arena, and Place Jacques Rueff (Champ-de-Mars). The Games present a unique opportunity to create positive momentum, and the City of Paris has seized this chance to develop an ambitious legacy strategy, the effects of which will continue beyond 2024. The work carried out as part of the Games will enable a long-term reduction in the carbon footprint of the entire events sector.
Many major high-profile events, such as soccer matches or concerts, still rely primarily on fossil-fuel-powered generators.
These generators serve as both the primary and backup power sources, with the grid serving only as a last resort. However, given the technical and technological reliability of the French power grid—which is available 99.99 % of the time—connecting to the grid during events contributes to their decarbonization (approximately 60g CO2/kWh in France, depending on the year).
In mainland France, an event connected to the grid can reduce CO2 emissions related to electricity needs by 90 % compared to an event powered by diesel generators with a capacity of 1,000 kW or less.
For example, a single professional soccer match broadcast on television consumes 4,000 liters of diesel fuel, equivalent to 12 tons of CO2 emissions—or 70 round trips from Paris to Marseille in a gasoline-powered car !
The Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games have made a commitment : to be responsible and reduce CO2 emissions. To achieve this goal, all venues hosting a sporting event or celebration will be connected to the grid with a high level of service (2 delivery points, HV loop, automatic reconfiguration). Generators will only be used as a last resort for emergency power. Throughout France, the electrical advancements made for the Paris 2024 Games will be put to good use and will contribute to a legacy of reducing the carbon footprint of the events sector.
Elcimaï Acts as Project Manager
It is in this context that the City of Paris has decided to entrust Elcimaï Environnement with a project management mission to secure the high-voltage power supply and distribution for several of its iconic sites. The scope of work includes design studies and construction supervision for the Parc des Princes, the Accor Arena, and Place Jacques Rueff (Champ de Mars), with the aim of ensuring the smooth operation of the sporting and festive events to be held there. These sustainable installations will continue, once the Games are over, to benefit the City of Paris and help reduce its carbon footprint.
“We are delighted to have been selected by the City of Paris and to have earned its trust in our ability to carry out this ambitious mission within a tight deadline—specifically by June 2024 ,” confirms Christophe Chavrier, Head of the Electrification of Uses and Processes division at Elcimaï Environnement, who is in charge of projects for the City of Paris’s General Delegation for the Olympic and Paralympic Games and Major Events.